Through Ice
by ErikaHK
Summary: When exploring an ice planet John falls through ice into freezing water. Shep whump, team fic.


**THROUGH ICE**  
_By ErikaKH_

**Title:**Through Ice  
**Word Count:**1.700  
**Rating:** PG  
**Characters:**John Sheppard, Rodney McKay, Ronon Dex, Teyla Emmagan, Carson Beckett, Elizabeth Weir  
**Genre:**H/C  
**Disclaimer:**Stargate and its related characters don't belong to me. I do it for fun, not profit. No infringement of rights is intended.  
**A/N: **This fic was writen as a response to the _It's Cold Out There Challenge!_ at the SGA H/C Challenges community on LJ.

**Summary: **When exploring an ice planet John falls through ice into freezing water.

* * *

The wisp of vapor faded in front of his eyes before coming again. It was only another constant that joined the never ending blanket of white, the chill of the wind, and the shush of footsteps. Behind them, a vast range of peaks as high as the Himalayas. In front of them, only plains stretching until the horizon where another range emerged. The sun, high in the sky, was distantly small compared to Earth, but was this planet's equivalent of summer. 

The team walked in line, with Ronon at point, marking the way with an ice pick, and John covering the rear. Silence had fallen at the moment they left empty handed the ice palace under the mountain. It was just another abandoned Ancient outpost with no useful technology and lots of left over failures. It would have been easier if they could simply use a jumper and avoid the long walk in the chilly weather, but the stargate was positioned across the plains, right in the middle of another mountain range, with barely enough space for people to walk through. So there they were. On foot, walking on a cold, ice planet.

"Look!" Rodney pointed at a line of smoke in the sky.

"What is it?" John squinted his eyes to look at the falling object. As it kept descending, more objects joined the first.

Ronon shrugged. "Meteor shower?"

Whatever it was, it was coming fast at their direction. They observed hypnotized for a few moments until realizing the sky was becoming covered by them.

"Uh, we better move." Rodney started walking while still looking up and hurried the others to follow with rapid motions of his hand.

They started walking. As soon as a rain of sand started to fall over their heads they increased the pace. First to a trot and then to a run. A few bigger pieces hit John in the head as small pebbles that hurt on impact. The snow around them was drizzled by the rocks and John looked up to see a larger figure accelerating towards them.

"Hurry!" he shouted to the others.

"Oh my God!" Rodney looked up as well. "We better hope we are not squashed under a giant bolder coming from the sky!" Rodney yelled running right in front of John.

They raced across the plain as fast as their lungs permitted. The meteor passed overhead and landed behind them with a thunder, followed by a loud crack. The team lost balance and fell as the ground vibrated.

"We're not squashed!" Rodney said with a smile on his face.

John glanced back. The meteor had fallen in the middle of the plain, but was quickly sinking in. He then saw a fracture tearing the ice behind them with a deafening sound.

"Oh no!" Rodney's smile disapeared. "It's not a plain! It's a frozen lake!"

"Let's go!" John reacted quickly and got to his feet.

They charged back into motion and in the direction of the 'gate. Adrenalin pumped vigorously through him reminding him of the danger of the freezing water beneath them. Glancing back, John saw the rupture in the ice expanding getting fast at his feet. He raced and forced his legs to speed faster, but suddenly lost his balance. He shook his arms in the air frantically as he realized there was no more ground under his feet.

At the moment his body touched the freezing water, he felt a thousand knives cutting him, causing him to let out a mute yell of pain. The frozen water squeezed his chest tightly and all thought vanished from his brain. He kicked and screamed enveloped by water until finally surfacing. Enough air failed to come into his lungs. John felt his chest constricted and tried to suck in the hard and painful breaths. His vision was a blur. All he saw was white everywhere and all he felt was sub-zero pain. His mind halted from shock and he felt locked in that same agonizing frame of time for eternity. Frantic voices screamed around him, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. He just kept swimming, flapping his arms and kicking until he hit something solid and grabbed it.

**…**

Ronon grabbed Teyla and Rodney and pushed them away from the path of the rupture. All three crashed to the ground mere centimeters from the fracture. They observed in awe for a few moments as the crack continued its path away from them until they realized they were out of danger. Ronon looked around him to check if his team mates were okay when he noticed the absence of his CO.

"Sheppard!" he shouted, looking around.

"Oh no!" Rodney looked wide eyed into the water.

Ronon followed his eye line and saw a black spot bellow the surface of the water, soon emerging gasping and kicking. He took a step closer and was held back by the scientist.

"Are you crazy? You want to fall in too? This ice is as thin as a sheet of paper!"

"But we have to do something!" Teyla urgently said.

Ronon looked down at his hands and at the ice pick he was carrying. He had made it with the ice from the outpost while waiting for the physicist to check on the data banks. Ronon lay belly down on the ice and extended his hand with the ice pick, directing it to Sheppard's hands and waited for him to grab it. He saw the pilot fighting the coldness and pain and knew they didn't have too long. The ice was freezing his torso as he pulled Sheppard from the water gasping and shaking.

The pilot went straight to a huddled position, hugging his chest and trembling violently. He breathed in gasps and his eyes were shut tightly. Teyla took out her coat and laid it on the ground. She rolled Sheppard over it, then Rodney and Teyla immediately started removing his clothes.

"We have to warm him quickly." Rodney worked fast unzipping his vest and unbuttoning his shirt. He discarded them aside just as Teyla finished removing his BDUs.

Ronon removed his fat coat and placed it over the small shaking figure. Rodney promptly lay down to the ground next to Sheppard and hugged the man under the cover.

"C'mon guys!" The scientist waved at the other empty space. Teyla immediately moved to share her body heat as well. "You need to get a med team here NOW!"

Ronon simply nodded and charged to the stargate. He knew that his team leader wouldn't last long after diving into the freezing water. He saw how grave his condition was. He had minutes to act, and he ran.

**…**

Teyla hugged John tightly afraid to let go. The pilot shook violently and she heard his teeth clattering. John's hair was wet and plastered over his forehead; the tension lines in his pale face showed pain and freezing cold. His breath shuddered loudly and came cloudy from his nostrils and mouth. All she could do to comfort him was hugging and waiting.

"John, Ronon ran to get help. You will be fine." She saw a faint nod from the pilot.

As time progressed, his shaking became lighter with sparse violent chills running through his body. His teeth still clattered, but his breathing was slower.

"John? Look at me." She spoke firmly and waited until he faintly opened his eyes. "You have to stay awake."

"M try'n." John's speech was slurred and his eyes were glassy and tired.

She saw his expression change from time to time as the pilot fought against his condition. She knew that he wouldn't give up and that he was a fighter, but she also saw him beginning to lose the battle. Several minutes passed and his eyelids drooped and opened constantly until they remained shut.

"John?" She took a hand to his face. "John, open your eyes." She shook his face gently.

His eyelids fluttered slightly and cracked a little. She continued to watch the same scene happening again and again until she was startled by a hand over her shoulder.

**…**

Carson acted quickly before Rodney's eyes. The pilot was gently placed on a stretcher and covered by thermal blankets. IVs were started and they raced as fast as they could move with Sheppard in his fragile condition.

He stepped into the Gate Room and ran behind the med team towards the infirmary, oblivious to Elizabeth's worried gaze over the team leader. He only stopped when a nurse held him out and pushed him to the post mission check out. Rodney grumpily accepted, and didn't fail to voice how he was being coerced by the harassing nurse.

After an insufferable long wait, Carson finally came to talk to them.

"He's suffering from severe hypothermia and is being warmed as we speak. I hope that he'll be fully warmed by morning, but we are monitoring his condition closely to prevent cardiac arrest."

"Cardiac arrest?" That didn't sound good to Rodney's ears.

"Yes, Rodney. Victims of severe hypothermia are at risk of severe drop of core temperature and the heart could stop suddenly, but don't worry, he's already showing signs of improvement."

"Good work, Carson," Elizabeth said. "And you too." She turned towards the team. "If you hadn't acted so quickly…" She sighed and closed her eyes. She opened them again. "Good work."

**Fin**


End file.
